12 Cool Windows 8.1 Apps

With over 120,000 apps to choose from in its Windows Store, you can be sure there are some clever and impressive gems among new-style Windows 8.1 apps. Here are some of our favorites.

Windows 8 and now Windows 8.1 have had a lot of catching up to do, apps-wise. After all, the iPad has been available since 2010 and accumulated over 475,000 apps in its store. The new Windows does double duty as a desktop/laptop and touch tablet operating system, but it still has a whole app store for a new class of touch-friendly tablet-centric apps—the Windows Store. There, you'll find over 120,000 apps available for easy download, installation, and updating. With that many to choose from, you can be sure there are some gems. Here you'll find our picks of some of the coolest.

Don't forget that as a full-fledged desktop OS, Windows 8.1 still runs all existing Windows apps in its desktop view, in addition to the new-style apps we're including below, so the whole universe of Windows apps isn't represented here—not by a long shot. For example, you're still going to want to run complex pro-level apps like Adobe Photoshop, in the desktop.

As with most mobile platforms, most of the apps are free—especially the well-known ones like Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and Netflix—but there are plenty of premium-level apps, especially games like Halo Spartan Assault or Bejeweled, that cost from $1.49 up. But unlike other app stores, the Windows Phone store lets developers offer free trial versions of apps, so you often won't have to spend a cent to try out a new app.

To get you started, the OS comes with standard apps created by Microsoft (and much improved with Windows 8.1) for everyday necessities—Mail, Calendar, People (for social networking), Messaging, Photos, SkyDrive, Reader, Music, and Video—but both small and well-known software publishers alike have released Windows 8.1 apps, including Autodesk, Cyberlink, and several major news publishers. According to the site MetroStore Scanner, an average of over 200 new apps are still arriving every day, so we're just getting started. The coolest Windows 8.1 apps may be yet to come, but meanwhile check out our chosen bunch.

Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
annual subscription rate(s). You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all
unsent issues. If your credit/debit card or other billing method can not be charged, we will bill you directly instead. Contact Customer Service

//our current issue

Select Term:

24 issues for $29.99 ONLY $1.25 an issue! Lock in Your Savings!

12 issues for $19.99ONLY $1.67 an issue!

State

Country

This transaction is secure

Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
annual subscription rate(s). You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all
unsent issues. If your credit/debit card or other billing method can not be charged, we will bill you directly instead. Contact Customer Service

YouCam Mobile

YouCam Mobile

$9.99

CyberLink's video editing software has long garnered top ratings here at PCMag, and the company has brought some of its expertise over to Windows 8.1. YouCam Mobile lets you manipulate both photos and video even while you're still shooting. You can crop, tag faces, frame, draw on top of your images, and stamp photos with stock art like flowers and kissy lips. On top of its photo features, YouCam lets you trim video, and then upload it to YouTube or Facebook.